Author: Abrar

Hello! My name is Abrar. I’ve been fortunate to have big company and startup experience, technology and business exposure, all of which across a dozen countries around the world alongside some really talented, interesting individuals along the way.   I'm currently a travel focused venture capitalist for the past 12 years; my partners and I have invested in 7 companies around the world ranging from 500k USD to 50M USD+. Prior to this I ran a 50 person boutique online travel agency for 9 years, was interim CTO for a 20 person travel technology company; which is where I first started in the travel industry, and a Senior Software Developer for Aramark, a Fortune 150 company. 

How to Optimize Your Content for LLM Search Engines

Discover the secrets to optimizing your content for LLM search engines. Learn how to leverage semantic SEO, AI-powered content generation, and technical SEO best practices to dominate search results and attract more organic traffic.

Travel AI Powered Trip Example

I’ve discussed the ideal Travel AI Service should feel like a personal extension of myself and I would like to visualize what a highly automated, and eventually completely autonomous, Travel AI-powered booking might look like. I believe everything I describe below is possible today for a travel startup or travel tech platform to incorporate into their feature stack to (i) increase conversion rates, (ii) increase engagement, (iii) increase brand loyalty to the travel retailer, and (iv) a less friction filled travel experience.

Mind-Reading Travel AI

Travel is no exception. I demand solutions to travel problems I didn’t even know existed, before I even realized they’re problems. Mind-Reading Travel AI In the context of travel, it dawned on me that what I truly desire is for Travel AI to read my mind. It’s a simple yet ambitious idea - just reading my mind. No one can accuse me of thinking small. 😉

Travel Natural Language Search Is Here (If You Were Just Born)

I propose that a new generation of travelers, born natively into natural language travel searching, will embrace natural language consumer-initiated travel searches (note the word consumer-initiated).

Consumer-Initiated Travel AI Use: Much Ado About Nothing

AI does have consumer-facing use cases, but these are nowhere near the hype surrounding its impact on consumer-initiated travel products and services.

Size (of the AI Prompt) Does Matter

In the context of ChatGPT searches, AI prompts are the initial inputs or queries that guide the AI’s response. They serve as the starting point for the AI to generate relevant and useful information. The need for detailed prompts cannot be overstated, especially in the realm of travel-related searches. A detailed prompt provides a clear direction for the AI, ensuring that the generated content is specific, relevant, and valuable.

Chinese Tourists Aren’t Coming Back to the US Anytime Soon. 

I believe the US travel industry (companies, media, prognosticators) is currently spending too much mental energy, attention, opportunity cost and focus on the inbound Chinese traveler market while overlooking opportunities from other lucrative source markets. Fixating on ‘the Pre-pandemic level return of Chinese Inbound Travelers’ is like a friend who’s separated from his longtime girlfriend that keeps talking about the good old days; hoping and praying they’ll get back together. I’m afraid, wishing, hoping, and praying isn’t a strategy and as far as I’m concerned it doesn’t matter who separated first and who’s at fault. Chinese Travelers Aren’t Returning Anytime ... Read more

Visa Processing Delays Costing US $100B and 16M Visitors Annually.

Every aspect of the travel industry benefits from shorter tourism visa processing times --- hotels, guides, tourism boards, airlines, transportation companies, attractions, restaurants, etc. I am speechless (and that’s hard for somebody as opiniated as me) to the point of being shell shocked at the wait times people are experiencing to enter the USA as a tourist or for business. I had to re-read, and then double and triple check, the current USA visa processing times because I thought it was a typo and the decimal point was in the wrong place.

Early High Level AI Observations for Travel Startups

Larger travel companies have and will continue to dominate the initial wave of large language model AI benefits. Where does that leave (comparatively smaller) travel startups

How to Differentiate Your Travel Startup or App

While it can be challenging to differentiate travel startups & travel apps from a customer viewpoint (the most important of viewpoints at the end of the day since they are paying all the bills so say), it's an essential step in identifying, attracting, and retaining hyper-niche customers. By focusing on unique value propositions, user-centric design, excellent customer support, continuous innovation, and unique strategic data sets, travel startups and travel apps can set themselves apart from competitors and communicate their unique strengths to customers.